Apparatus for vacuumizing and sealing containers



H. A. BARN BY July 24, 1934.

APPARATUS FOR VACUUMiZING ANDSEALING CONTAINERS Filed May 27. 1932 3Sheets-Sheet l July 24, 1934. BARNBY 1,967,346

APPARATUS FOR VACUUMIZING AND SEALING CONTAINERS Filed May 27. 1932 3Sheets-Sheet 2 2 3 9 l I I n J L I...

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July 24, 1934. BARNBY 1,967,346

APPARATUS FOR VACUUMIZING AND SEALING CONTAINERS Filed May 27. 1932 sSheets-Sheet 5 Patented July 24, 1934 APPARATUS FOR VACUUMIZING ANDSEALING CONTAINERS Herbert A. Barnby, Toledo, Ohio, assignor toOwens-Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Application May 27,1932, Serial No. 613,892

a claims.

vacuumized, can be effectively sealed automat-' ically while in thesealing chamber and without requiring any auxiliary apparatus ormechanism 16 within the vacuum chamber.

Other objects ,of the invention hereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of anapparatus conwill appear structed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional end elevation of the same, the section being takenat the line II-'-II on Fig. 1. K

. Fig. 3 is a part sectional view of a jar to be vacuumized.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the apparatus.

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation showing the end gates of the vacuumchamber in theirelevated position.

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation showing a modiflcation of the apparatus,the door operating mechanism beingomitted. Fig. .I is a view similar toFig. 6, but showing the parts in a different relative position.

Referring to the drawings, a vacuum chamber 5, the walls of which may bemade of aluminum or other suitable material is preferably rectangular inform and may be supported on a framework 6. -This framework includesribs or bars 7 extending upward along the sides and across the top ofthe chamber and which may be cast integral with the chamber walls, togive sufficient strength and rigidity to the structure to withstand theatmospheric pressure when the air is exhausted from the chamber. Endgates or doors 8 close the ends of the vacuum chamber. These doors havean inner marginal lining 9 of vulcanized rubber or other suitablesealing material to make an air tight connection between .50 the doomand the end walls of the chamber.

The doors are lifted-and lowered for opening and closing the chamber, bythe following mechanism: Each door is carried on a pair of levers 10 and11 on the front side of the chamber, andaoorrespoudingpair lo andll'onthe opposite side of the chamber. The levers of each pair aresubstantially parallel when the door is in closed position. The upperlever 10 is pivoted at its outer end to the door at a point about midwaybetween the top and bottom of the door. The lever 10 is fulcrumed at 12on a stud formed on the side wall of the chamber, said lever includingan arm 13 extending upward from the fulcrum. The arm 13 is connectedthrough a link 14 to a counterbalancing coil spring 15, the latter being5 attached at its lower end to a screw bolt 16 anchored to a plate 1'7attached to the bottom of the chamber. .A nut 18 permits adjustment ofsaid bolt for adjusting the tension of the spring. The lever 11 ispivoted at 19 to a stud an on the chamber wall. The arm 21'of lever 11is con-' nected through a link 22 to a hand lever 23. The hand lever 23is fixed toa pivot shaft 24 mounted in brackets 25, the latter beingsecured to. the top wall of the vacuum chamber at opposite edgesthereof.

Each lever 10' on the rear side of the chamber is connected to acounterbalancing spring 15' like the springs 15 and adjustable in likemanner. Links 22 connect the levers 11" with an am 26 secured to theshaft 24, the arm 26 being parallel with that portion of the lever 23between the shaft 24 and the links 22.

It will be observed that the link and lever v mechanisms are identicalfor the two doors, except that they are right and left handed. Also, thelink and lever connections are alike on opposite sides of the chamber.Each pairof levers l0 and 11 are substantially parallel when the door isin closed position, but the lever 10 is shorter than the lever 11 andswings through a greater arc when the door is lifted or lowered. Thearrangement is such that. when the door is pulled upward by depressingthe lever 23, it swings inward to an inclined position over the vacuumchamber. as shown in dotted lines (Fig. 1). It will be apparent thatwhen the hand lever 23 'is moved downward the two doors will be movedupward simultaneously to the dotted line position. The tension of thesprings 15 is preferably adjusted to substantially counterbalance theweight of the doors so that but little effort is required to lift thedoors. It will also be noted that during the lifting of the doors, thesprings contract and' their tension is reduced. This reductionin thepull of the springs is offset in part by the increasing leverageobtained by the movement of the arms 13 toward aposition perpendicularto the spring. The tension of the spring is further counteracted by noinward movement of the door toward a position over the pivots 12 and 19.The arrangement of parts is such that the doors 8 are substantiallycounterbalanced in all positions. The operator may, therefore, lift andlower both doors with little effort by lowering and lifting the lever23.

When the vacuum chamber is closed, the air is exhausted therefrom bymeans of a vacuum pump 27 driven by an electric motor 28. The air iswithdrawn from the chamber through an exhaust pipe 29 extending from thevacuum pump and uniting with a pipe section 30 opening into saidchamber. A valve 31 actuated by a hand lever 32 can be opened foradmitting atmospheric air through the pipe 30 into the vacuum chamber.

Jars or other containers 35 which may be filled with food products orother material which it is desired to vacuumizeand seal within suchcontainer, are loaded on trays 36 for introduction into the vacuumchamber. The trays are carried to and from said chamber on horizontalconveyors 37 extending from opposite ends of the chamber. Theseconveyors may comprise series of parallel rollers 38 and are preferablyarranged at substantially the floor level of the vacuum chamber. Thefloor of the chamber also comprises a series of parallel rollers 39.Horizontal guide strips 40 extending along the inner side walls of thechamber just above the rollers 39, serve to guide the trays 36 in theirpassage through the chamber.

As shown, a number of trays 36, each filled with jars 35, may be placedone on top of another, all of the trays being then moved into saidchamber at one time. As shown, the jars are arranged in three tiers. Thechamber may be of a length to accommodate two or more trays placed endto end therein.

The receptacle 35, as shown in Fig. 3, is a glass jar of usualconstruction having a top cover or liner 41, a sealing gasket 42 ofrubber or other suitable material, and an outer sealing ring 43, thelatter provided with screw threads to engage the correspondinglythreaded neck portion of the container. The jar may be filled, forexample, with ground coffee or any other material or product to bevacuumized and sealed.

Operation.Assuming the valve 31 is open so that there is atmosphericpressure within the vacuum chamber, the operator lowers the hand lever23, thereby lifting the end doors to the dotted line position (Fig. 1).A series of trays 36, each filled with jars 35 containing the product ormaterial to be vacuumized, and which have been placed on a conveyor 3'7,as indicated, are then moved into the vacuum chamber. Before the jars 35are placed on the trays, the top 41 of each jar is placed in position onthe jar and the clampping ring 43 placed loosely in position. When thejars have been moved into the vacuum chamber, the operator raises thelever 23, thus lowering the end doors 8. He then operates the hand lever32 to close the valve 31, thereby closing the chamber 5 to atmosphericair. The motor 28 may now be started, or may be running continuously,thereby operating the vacuum pump and withdrawing the air from thechamber. The containers 35 are thus vacuumized, the loosely seatedcovers 41 permitting the free escape of the air from within thecontainers. When a sufficiently high vacuum has been drawn, as indicatedby the vacuum gauge 44, the operator may or may not stop the motor 28,and moves the hand lever 32 into position to open the valve 31. Thisvalve and the pipe 30 are of sufficient size to permit a very rapidentrance of atmospheric air into the chamber, so that the pressurewithin the chamber rises instantaneously to atmospheric pressure. Thissudden rise of pressure is immediately applied to the outer surfaces ofthe jar covers 41 00 so that they bear down on the sealing gaskets 42and seal the jars. This sudden application of atmospheric pressureserves to seal the jars before there is opportunity for any appreciableamount of air to enter the jars. They are thus automatically sealedwhile containing a high vacuum or a vacuum substantially equal to thatwhich is drawn in the chamber before the valve 31 is opened.

The operator now lowers the lever 23 and thus lifts the doors 8,permitting the trays containing the vacuumized jars to be moved forwardout of the vacuum chamber onto the conveyor 37 at the discharge end ofthe chamber. The trays of jars which have been vacuumized may be pushedout of the chamber by pushing in the next set of trays which have beenbrought to position on the conveyor 37.

It will be seen that the jars are automatically sealed while in thevacuum chamber, without the use of any mechanism within the chamber andwithout requiring any valves or other special construction orattachments in connection with the jar covers. When the jars have beenremoved from the vacuum chamber, the sealing rings 43 may be screweddown tight.

Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate a modification in which there is providedmechanical means for momentarily applying top pressure to the jars orother containers at the moment the vacuum is released. With some typesof containers, there is more or less irregularity in the sealingsurfaces of some of the containers, so that in the vacuumizing processabove set forth the admission of air pressure to the sealing chambercannot be relied upon to seal all the containers without air leakage. Inthe form of invention shown in Figs. 6 and '7 there is provided anauxiliary means for mechanically applying a top pressure to the jarcovers at the moment the vacuum is released, thus preventing entrance ofair to the vacuumized jars before atmospheric pressure can operate toclamp the covers into sealing engagement with the jars.

This auxiliary means comprises a horizontally disposed pressure plate 50within the vacuum chamber just below the roof 53 of the chamber. thelength and width of the plate being approximately those of the vacuumchamber. so as to overlie all the jars in a full tray. A vertical stem51 secured to the plate 50 extends upward through a packing gland 52inthe roof 53. A hand lever 54 is fulcrumed at 55 to a link 56 whichconnects the lever with the roof 53. The lever is adjustably connectedto the stem 51, a series of openings 57 in said stem permitting suchadjustment. This adjusting means permits the pressure plate 50 to 1 beset at a height corresponding to the top level of jars of differentlengths without carrying the lever 54 out of its normal range ofoperation.

The plate 50 is preferably provided with a bottom lining 58 of rubber orother resilient material, permitting a substantially uniformdistribution of the pressure to all of the jars independently of slightirregularities or variations in the top level of the individual jars.The trays 36 may in like manner be provided with an inner bottom lining59 of resilient material, which may either supplement or be uesd as asubstitute for the lining 58, in distributing the pressure.

A compression spring 60 is interposed between 150 the lever 54 and roof53 and serves to hold the pressure plate 50 in its elevated position,except when the lever is depressed by the operator. Fig. 7 shows thepressure plate held up by the spring 60 in position to clear the jars,and the doors 8 in an intermediate position assumed during opening andclosing of the vacuum chamber.

In operation, the lever 54 is momentarily moved downward by the operatorto the Fig. 6 position and pressure thereby applied to the covers of thereceptacles while the valve 31 is opened and atmospheric pressure isbeing admitted to the vacuum chamber. In this manner there is preventedany danger of air entering the vacuumized containers before atmosphericpressure can operate effectively to clamp the covers in sealing contactwith the jaws.

Modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of myinvention.

What I claim is: v

1. The combination of a structure providing a vacuum chamber comprisingtop, bottom and side walls, end doors for said chamber, means forexhausting the air from said chamber, means for swinging said doorsupwardly and inwardly from a closed position in which the doors arevertical, to an open position in which the doors are over the vacuumchamber and in an inclined position, said means including a pair oflevers for each door, the levers of each pair being pivotally connectedintermediate their ends to a side wall of the container and comprisingparallel arms extending downward from their pivots in an inclineddirection and pivoted to the door, the lower said arm of each pair beingof greater length than the upper arm, whereby the doors are tilted tosaid inclined position as they are swung upward, a hand lever, and linksconnecting the latter to one of the levers of each said pair, said handlever operable through said connections for swinging the doors to saidopen and closed positions.

2. The combination of a structure providing a vacuum chamber comprisingtop, bottom and side walls, end doors for said chamber, means forexhausting the air from said chamber, means for swinging said doorsupwardly and inwardly from a closed position in which the doors arevertical, to an open position in which the doors are over the vacuumchamber and in an inclined position, said means including a pairof'levers for each door, the levers of each pair being pivotallyconnected intermediate their ends to aside wall of the container andcomprising parallel arms ex-' tending downward from their pivots in aninclined direction and pivoted to the door the lower said arm of eachpair being of greater length than the upper arm, whereby the doors aretilted to said inclined position as they are swung upward, a hand lever,links connecting the latter to-one of the levers of each said pair, saidhand lever operable through said connections for swinging the doors tosaid open and closed positions, and counterbalancing springs connectedtosaid lever and counterbalancing the weight of the doors.

3. The combination of a structure providing a vacuum chamber comprisingtop, bottom and side walls, end doors for said chamber, means forexhausting the air from said chamber, means for swinging said doorsupwardly and inwardly from a closed position in which the doors arevertical, 1 to an open position in which the doors are over the vacuumchamber and in an inclined position, said means including a pair oflevers for each door, the levers of each pair being pivotally connectedintermediate their ends to a side wall of 1 the container and comprisingparallel arms extending downward from their pivots in an inclineddirection and pivoted to the door, a hand lever, links connecting thelatter to one of the levers of each said pair, said hand lever operablespring acting through the connected lever is increased.

HERBERT ,A. BARNBY.

